ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the interaction between concertation and the transformation of the welfare state in Spain. It describes the evolution of concertation and social pacts from the early years of democracy up to the present. The chapter provides an interpretation of these developments in the light of existing theories exploring the relationship between concertation and welfare state development as well as the policymaking and institutional context. It analyses the implications of the evolution of concertation for the transformation of the Spanish welfare state. Since 1978 policy concertation has also played a central role in the development and transformation of the Spanish welfare system. Trade unions and employers' organizations did participate very actively in the implementation of the guidelines for economic management contained in the Pacts. Overall, social pacts in the 1980s did not have social protection as their major concern. Rather, industrial restructuring, macroeconomic stability, and wage increases in particular were the priorities of the Socialist government.
